


Cover me in petals of ink

by ChristinMKay



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Hate to Love, M/M, Past Abuse, Tattoos, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 01:50:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9298943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristinMKay/pseuds/ChristinMKay
Summary: Dan doesn’t do relationships and hates tattoos. So he is not really happy when the far too attractive Phil opens up a tattoo parlour right next to Dan’s flower shop.Phil would enjoy the bickering with his next door neighbour, if he hadn’t have his own cross to carry. Despite claiming to hate each other maybe Dan and Phil just were exactly what the other person needed





	

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for any spelling/grammar mistakes, I'm a dyslexic and not a native speaker. Also I'll try to update as often as I can, but I'm also a very busy student so I can't make any promises.  
> Feel free to leave kudos, or even comments, if you liked it.

It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon in April when a truck pulled into the small street on which Dan Howell owned a flower shop. There was a reason Dan remembered so well that it was a rainy Tuesday when the truck arrived. Some  might argue it had been the electric blue eyes Dan had looked into for the first time as a stranger with too tight skinny jeans and a pitch black fringe, had entered his store, droplets of water running over his face. But Dan’s life was not a cheesy, trashy novel frustrated housewives liked to read to take a break from their work. In reality it was the day Dan finally met the owner of the store next door, which’s renovation and  deafening drilling had disturbed Dan for months and scarred a lot of his costumers away. 

So it was no surprise that, when stranger walked in, stretched out and hand and said “Hi, I’m Phil, the owner of the shop next door,” Dan only huffed annoyed, and carried on with tidying his counter.

“So you are the reason my customers have been running away to more peaceful and quieter flower shops,” he replied, ignoring Phil’s out stretched hand.

“Apologies,” Phil’s wide smile did not even fade the slightest bit, “I promise to be a better neighbour from now on.” 

Dan looked Phil up and down, his hand was still stretched out, the tip of his tongue was poking out of the corner of his mouth, he looked like a weird dorky hipster nerd mixture. His smile seemed genuine though, so Dan finally stopped tidying and took Phil’s hand. It was cold and wet from the rain outside, and fitted perfectly in Dan’s dry, soil covered hand.

“Name’s Dan. Why did it even take you so long to renovate the old bookstore next door?” he asked Phil. “Did you not like the old shelves?” he tried to joke.

“Oh, I’m not a bookshop owner, I own a tattoo parlour,” Phil said, and Dan dropped his hand.

Dan suddenly felt sick, his insides twisting. He clenched his fist as he coldly replied, “You should better leave now.”

Phil tilted his head in confusion. “Sorry, what?” he asked.

Dan did not care that he was being impolite, he just wanted Phil gone. 

“This neighbourhood is calm  and traditional, it will not tolerate a dirty tattoo parlour owned by a dirty punk. You do not belong here, and you are bad for business, so you should leave my business. Now!” Dan spit out.

“Excuse me?” the warmth from Phil’s voice had vanished. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you that you have such a ridiculous view on me and my parlour, but don’t worry I don’t want to stay in your pollen factory any longer.”

And with that he turned around and practically stormed out of Dan’s shop. Dan took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He knew that he had been rude, and for a stranger he might have seemed like a crazy, over dramatic, narrow minded person, but he had his reasons. He was aware of how ridiculous his exchange with Phil must have seemed, but he did’n care. He did not want to be friends with Phil anyways.

How was he supposed to deal with a tattoo parlour right next door? He loved his work, his shop was his safe space, that would change now. Also he realised that he was now also living next to a tattoo parlour as he was living right above his flower shop.

With shaking hands he reached for his phone and called Louise. It took a few rings before she picked up.

“Hello, Dan,” she answered with her always cheerful voice.

“Hi, Louise,” Dan said, “Can you come to work early. Something’s happened.” Half an hour later the bell above the door of the flower shop rang and Louise entered. Thankfully no customers had been there in the mean time. Dan started to immediately to relax as she embraced him in a warm hug. 

“Oh hun, you’re so tense. What’s going on?” she asked.

Dan took a deep breath and swallowed. 

“You know the truck outside, and people moving stuff in next door?” he said. Louise nodded.

“There is going to be a tattoo parlour.”

Her face fell, just like Dan’s had. Louise had been one of Dan’s oldest friends, she knew why he was so fed up about this.

“Oh gosh,” she said and embraced Dan in another hug, “we will deal with this.” 

Dan just rested his face on her shoulder and tried not to cry. He was feeling miserable. 

You can’t outrun your past, a voice whispered in his head. Dan told the voice to shut up.   
  


 

*******

 

“How did meeting the neighbours go?” Phil was greeted by PJ, as he returned to help unloading the truck.

Phil just scoffed. “Horrible,” he said. “The owner of the flower shop next door seemed nice until I told him I was an tattoo artist. He then basically banished me out of his shop and called me all kinds of stuff. Either he is just an overdramatic dick, or he is completely crazy.”

PJ raised an eyebrow and handed Phil a box from the truck. “Must be a real asshole if he gets you to curse,” PJ couldn’t hide his small amusement.

Phil just rolled his eyes. He knew how much his best friend liked to tease him.

“He called me a dirty punk,” he told PJ as they moved more and more boxes inside the parlour.

PJ looked Phil up and down and bursted into laughter. 

“Did you strip out of your hipster bomber jacket to show off your very punk and badass animal tattoos on your arms?” he joked. “Oh wait it must have been you pitch black emo fringe that gave away how much punk you are.”

With a loud crash Phil put down one box on the counter. “Less talking, more unloading, before the rain soaks through all our boxes.”

However, PJ was right. Phil definitely did not look like a traditional tattoo artist. He did not have any piercings, he maybe dyed his hair, but only black, there were no colourful streaks in it. He did have tattoos, but none on his face, neck or hands. When he was wearing long sleeves no one could see them. And even when people saw them they would not expect Phil to have the job he had. But Phil liked it that way. He usually loved the surprise in people’s faces when he revealed what his job was. Well, usually they took it better than Dan Howell. 

Phil shook his head, the had a parlour to finish by tomorrow morning and then he still had to move into his new apartment. As he stepped outside again the humid summer rain clashed into his face. There was a long day ahead of him.

So it was no surprise that when he was finally finished with the parlour all he wanted to do was order a pizza and lie down on the mattress that was at the moment the only piece of furniture in his new apartment. He said goodbye to PJ and climbed up the stairs. He would say hi to the person living next door on a different day. For now he was just done.

However, as he reached his door he saw a figure he definitely was not in the mood to see.

“What are you doing here?” Dan Howell snapped at him. “I told you to get lost.”

Phil had almost forgotten about their weird encounter this morning and he had almost been able to forgive Dan thinking that Dan was just in a really bad mood that morning. But now anger started to come up deep inside of him. Who was this guy thinking he was.

“I could ask you the same,” he said. “I, for one, live here,” he nodded towards his door. 

“You gotta be fucking kidding,” Dan murmured and unlocked the door he was standing in front of. 

“I’ll take it you are not only my business neighbour, but my apartment neighbour?” Phil asked, realising why Dan was here. Dan did not reply. Instead he just stepped into his apartment and slammed the door shut.

Fantastic, Phil thought. He was living next to a petulant four year old.


End file.
